I must have seen this on a flight a decade ago but it proved to be worthy of a rewatch yesterday. Almost anything with Melissa MacCarthy is enjoyable enough, and when you top that with Sandra Bullock, it just has to be too terrible an idea to flop. This was not bad at all for several reasons:
They have dedicated enough time to the gags to make the joke sink in. Obviously with a dose of improvisation along the way, the two protagonists blend and contrast perfectly well. One might think the scenes were too long but that didn't hurt at all because they were filled with enough jokes and trivia.
Sandra Bullock is totally different in this one. Not different only from her signature character in Speed, but also from Miss Congeniality, which in spirit might be the closest to The Heat where she also was an FBI agent. She's 100% Sandra Bullock in each of these three films, yet, 100% another character. Well, this is basically GOOD ACTING. None of the three are deep, hard-to-portray characters maybe, but it takes true talent and dedication to avoid repetition so well. Kudos to her.
Melissa MacCarthy is Melissa MacCarthy in all her movies. With slight differences in tone here and there. But that's okay. Her success is more about being her true colorful self under varying themes, rather than transforming into various characters.
The movie is set in Boston. The city which was once famous for Good Will Hunting, but nowadays bettter associated with Bill Burr, the greatest comic of our times, who was born and raised there. And we have him in the cast. A small role it may be, but still notable. Having such a legend among the stars is an honor for every movie and TV show.
The Heat could have been more enjoyable if Genocide Rapaport wasn't in it but I guess it'll take another decade for the copyright holders to need to replace his image and sound via AI.
Another downside was the overuse of gore. I think this movie could have been better if sight of blood was avoided. I have no idea why they took that road because it is not a "dark comedy" or something to that effect. It's a cop-themed action comedy after all. One that has (or had) the potential for a sequal, even a streaming show.
Built on the contrast of character between its heroines, The Heat deserves something between a solid 6 and a generous 8.
They have dedicated enough time to the gags to make the joke sink in. Obviously with a dose of improvisation along the way, the two protagonists blend and contrast perfectly well. One might think the scenes were too long but that didn't hurt at all because they were filled with enough jokes and trivia.
Sandra Bullock is totally different in this one. Not different only from her signature character in Speed, but also from Miss Congeniality, which in spirit might be the closest to The Heat where she also was an FBI agent. She's 100% Sandra Bullock in each of these three films, yet, 100% another character. Well, this is basically GOOD ACTING. None of the three are deep, hard-to-portray characters maybe, but it takes true talent and dedication to avoid repetition so well. Kudos to her.
Melissa MacCarthy is Melissa MacCarthy in all her movies. With slight differences in tone here and there. But that's okay. Her success is more about being her true colorful self under varying themes, rather than transforming into various characters.
The movie is set in Boston. The city which was once famous for Good Will Hunting, but nowadays bettter associated with Bill Burr, the greatest comic of our times, who was born and raised there. And we have him in the cast. A small role it may be, but still notable. Having such a legend among the stars is an honor for every movie and TV show.
The Heat could have been more enjoyable if Genocide Rapaport wasn't in it but I guess it'll take another decade for the copyright holders to need to replace his image and sound via AI.
Another downside was the overuse of gore. I think this movie could have been better if sight of blood was avoided. I have no idea why they took that road because it is not a "dark comedy" or something to that effect. It's a cop-themed action comedy after all. One that has (or had) the potential for a sequal, even a streaming show.
Built on the contrast of character between its heroines, The Heat deserves something between a solid 6 and a generous 8.